Emergency fire escape ladder



Aug. 15, 1950 P. THONNEY EMERGENCY FIRE ESCAPE LADDER Filed June 27, 1947 lu rent/n 6 PauZ 7720727269 A 110 rueys Patented Aug. 15, 1950 UN'JTE'D- STATES PATENT- scenes I 2,518,839 I c EMERGENCY FIRE ESCAPE LADDER Paul 'Thonney, Dixie, .Wash, I ApplicationJune 27, 1947, seriai nonzsvaso 2, Claims. 1 a'Ihis invention relates to .a :flexible ladderca- ,;pable of being readily stored in :a compact :maniner; preferablyincrooms of *upnerzstories of dwellings adjacent windows and in locations where :a rlikelihood exists of isolation from escape by ,means, as stairways: and fire escapes. I ,Moreparticularly, it :is an object of the presentiniiention fooprovide arflexible ladder capable of ,being readily 'rolledaup zto compact'form and having means ateone end thereof capable-of being zreadily attached to a window sill, :porch railin poster substantialitempf furniture for secur- .ing said endaquickly iand 'easilyzasithe anchored upper end of the ladder and so that the opposite end :thereof, may be dropped from the window to the ground below to afford a safe means of escape. I

.Still anothero ject of the inventionis ,to provide a reel or spool on which theflexible ladder is adapted to be normally wound and which will afford effective meansfor conveying one end of the ladder to the ground below when dropped from an upper story of enclosures and which will :efiectivel tbe conveyed by ,ggranity over slanting oofs (01' {other surfaces on which the flexible ladder might otherwise lodge.

,aStill aifurther object of the invention i-s'itocprovide a ladder having flexible side rails, preferably formed of rope and including novel construction of rungs connected to corresponding portions of-zsaidfiexiblelside rails and which are eitectiviely .zanchored thereto Hoy an extremely simple :andefiioient means enabling the ladder to be economically manufactured and quickly and easily assembled so as to minimize the cost of the completed ladder.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the emergency fire escape ladder in an applied position;

Figure 2. is a fragmentary front elevational view showing the ladder extended;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional Referring more specifically to 'the drawing, (the emergency fire escape ladder in its entirety is designated generally .6 tand includes two iflexible side rails l and -8ywhich'may 'be formed of moriresponding 'flengths of rope -or which may the, .illustraite'd, formed by corresponding end poritions of "a single length of rope 'which is turned Zback :upon itself, intermediate of its ends.

At :a point nearly intermediate :of theends nf the :rope, forming the flexible sor :rope rails'izhan'd .8,-.said rope is fastened'to the .eye 9 .on "the shank ,end of a relatively short book will by the knots "1:1 to form a loop :12 of the intermediate portion 20f the rope. l I

The terminal ,"portions of the two ends of the rope, forming the .rails l :and :8, :are secured around the hub :of a .spool .l12, :as indicated :at' I23. The spool 1:2 may :assume anyvzdesired form, zpreferably comprising corresponding end members :14, each composed of .'a pair of'ibars 21:5 secured in crossed relationship and which endpor'tions :14 are connected in spaced relationship -:the spool hublztfi, comprising, preferably, four bars or rods which are "fastened iad jacent their sends in "the :apexes ;or big'ht portions :formed "by the crossed :armsl5, as best illustrated in-Figural.

'The ladderlfi alsoincludes .a -pluralityLof $101181:- tudinally spaced, transversely extending rungs 4 .1, each comprising a substantially rigid "tube 1 8, as .best seen "in Figured, having a rod EM -ex: tending longitudinally therein and which is pro vided with turned back ends iorming hooks -flll'. The rod I9 is of such a length that the curved portions of the hooks 20 thereof are spaced from one another a distance approximately equal to or slightly less than the length of the tube l8, so that said rod [9, including its hooks 20, can be substantially entirely nested within the tube l8. Any number of such rungs I! may be employed as a part of the ladder 6, depending upon the length thereof, and it will be readily apparent that the ladder is capable of being readily assembled by the simple expediency of extending one end of the rod IQ of each rung, outwardly of an end of its tube l8 and engaging the hook portion thereof with one of the flexible rails I or 8. Said end is then forced back into the tube a sufficient distance to expose the other hook 20 at the opposite end of the tube l8, and so that the other rope section or rail 1 or 8 can be engaged therewith, after which the rod I9 is returned to an intermediate position. With each of the rungs I! thus connected in longitudinally spaced relationship to the rope portions 1 and 8, it will be readily apparent that the complete ladder will be assembled and by correct positioning of the rungs I1, said rungs will be disposed transversely of the rope portions l and 8. The hooks 20 will cooperate with the ends of the tube l8 for clamping the rope portions engaged thereby to prevent the rungs I! from slipping relatively to the ladder sides or rails 1 and 8.

Assuming that the ladder 6 is wound upon the spool M, the normal postion thereof, when not in use to form a compact unit, in case of necessity to accomplish an emergency exit from an upper story of an encloser, a wall of which is indicated at 2| in Figure 1, the hook II), which is disposed outermost of the wound ladder 6 on the spool M,

can be engaged over the sill 22 of a window opening 23 of said wall 2|, after which the spool M can be thrown out of the window opening 23 to fall onto the ground 24 below. Occupants of the enclosure may then make their exit through the window 23 and climb down the ladder 6 to the ground 24 below.

:i The short hook I!) may be readily engaged around the sill 22 and the flexible ladder rail portions 1 and 8, adjacent'to the hook, Will readily adjust themselves over the bottom portion of the window opening, thus enabling the hook to be quickly and easily applied with the minimum of time loss, and also enabling the ladder and hook 'to adjust themselves, so that the rungs l'l therebf will all be level. It will likewise be readily :apparent that the hook I9 could be attached to a porch rail or other available anchoring means. The loop I2 is provided to enable the ladder 6 to be anchored to a post or other anchoring means,

' to the ground below where the ladder alone might become lodged and not fall completely to the round. I

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing'from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter" defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 7

1. In a flexible ladder of the character described, in combination with a pair of ladder rails formed of rope or other flexible members, a plurality of rungs, each of said rungs comprising an elongated, substantially rigid tube, a rod extending loosely through the tube and having turned back ends forming hooks disposed slidably within the tube, said rod being slidable relatively to the tube for ejecting one of the hooks therefrom for engagement with one of said rails and being slidable in the opposite direction thereafter for exposing the other hook for engagement with a corresponding portion of the other rail, said tube being of a length at least equal to the distance between the remote portions of the hooks, and said hooks, when disposed within said tube and in engagement with corresponding portions of said rails, combining with the tube ends for clamping the rung to said rails.

2. In combination with two elongated flexible members or lengths of rope forming ladder rails or sides, a plurality of ladder rungs, each of said ladder rungs including a rigid tube having hook members disposed therein, one adjacent each end thereof and slidable with respect thereto, means connecting said hook members, the combined length of the hook members and said means being no .greater than the length of the tube, and said hook members each being adapted to engage a corresponding portion of a different ladder rail for positioning the rung therebetween and for combining with the adjacent tube end for clamping the rung thereto.

PAUL THONNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent: 

